After your fish has been gutted, stuff the cavity with a mixture of nice herbs and aromatics such as basil, parsley, herby fennel tops and slices of lemon

Mix the salt with the orange and lemon zest, egg and fennel seeds. Pour in a few splashes of water and scrunch the mix together until it looks like wet sand. Sprinkle about 1cm/½ inch of the salt on a baking tray, making a little bed for each fish. Rub the fish skin with oil and place on top of the salt

Pour the rest of the salt on top, patting it down. You don’t have to worry about covering the head and tail

Bake the fish in the preheated oven for 20 to 40 minutes. The timing does depend, however, on the thickness of the salt, your oven, the type and size of fish you’re using and the temperature of the fish when it went into the oven. It’s hard to be 100 per cent accurate, so the best thing to do is prod a fork into the thickest part of the fish, hold it there for 10 seconds, then pull it out quickly and rest the prongs on your lip

If the prongs feel warm the fish is cooked, and if not it needs longer. If you’re still not sure, pull a bit of the salt away and check to see if the flesh pulls away from the bone. If it doesn’t, pop it back in the oven